By any objective measure Osbornomics has failed.
At best, the former Chancellor’s economic policies merely stalled the post-recession economic recovery. At worst, they have stunted growth, further entrenched economic inequality and exacerbated social division throughout the country. The Liberal Democrats can take some encouragement from the fact that, when in coalition, they were able to moderate the more insidious and ideologically-driven elements of Osborne’s economic doctrine. One must only look to the unmitigated disaster of the Chancellors post-election budget where, for example, he sought to slash disability benefits as one example of what unfettered Osbornomics may have looked like.
For decades however, under both Labour and Conservative governments, the UK has suffered from persistently high levels of both wealth and income inequality. Socially, politically and economically, the geographic divide between north and south has grown. The north-east of England has for years been ignored when it comes to public investment with almost 25 times as much spent on infrastructure per resident in London. Osborneís proposed Northern Powerhouse appears to have done little to mitigate the long-standing effects of decades of under-investment in both people and infrastructure.
In purely demographic terms, the wealth divide between the old and the young is growing exponentially due to the institutionalized, structural deficit in public spending on the young (e.g. education and training) versus the elderly (e.g. pensions and health care).